A recent transplant to Charlotte, North Carolina, oboist Elizabeth Sullivan is an active recitalist, orchestral musician, and pedagogue. Prior to moving to the southeast, Dr. Sullivan was a dedicated member of the Illinois musical community presenting masterclasses and clinics at universities, middle and high schools, and camps around the state. Dr. Sullivan is also an active member of the International Double Reed Society, appearing in masterclasses and recitals at the annual conferences, including a recital at the 2009 Birmingham, England conference.

As a performer in the Midwest, Dr. Sullivan could be heard playing oboe and English horn with ensembles throughout Central Illinois including the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Champaign Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Prairie Ensemble, and Danville Symphony Orchestra. She is also an avid supporter of contemporary music, often collaborating with composers to help decipher extended techniques for the oboe and English horn.

Prior to joining the University of North Carolina at Charlotte faculty, Dr. Sullivan was the Oboe Instructor at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. While in this position, she served as the oboe instructor, woodwind chamber ensemble coach,and taught music theory courses. In the four years she served on the faculty, she built the oboe studio into a vibrant collection of promising students. Teaching many of the area high school oboists, her private students have gone on to study at some of the finest music schools in the Midwest including the University of Illinois at Urbana-­Champaign and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Dr. Sullivan holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois, where she was the recipient of the Bill A. Nugent Fellowship award, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson University.

Her dissertation, “Rhythm and meter as a means towards musical expression in Elliott Carter’s Oboe Concerto,” discusses performance practice techniques for the work specifically and details Carter’s very specific and metered musical expression.